Newark - March 16

We would’ve expected to see a little more green than usual at the Prudential Center on Saturday given it’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend, but we were surprised to notice so many blue shirts as we made our way around the concourse. After spotting a few dozen Quebec Nordiques T-shirts during our stroll before the game we finally stopped to find out why there were so many Nords fans in Newark. Apparently around 500 fans made the trek to New Jersey from Quebec City for the game, but when we asked if they were cheering for the Devils or Habs, the fan club members laughed and informed us “We’re cheering for the Devils to come to Quebec.”

When Time magazine sticks you with the label “The Most Dangerous City in the Nation”, it’s hard to bounce back in the court of public opinion. While it will never have the cache of its bustling metropolis of a neighbor that is Manhattan, Newark has gotten a lot less murdery since that 1996 article came out and they’ve got a few new claims to fame they can hang their hat on. The state that gave the world Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Buzz Aldrin can also add Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway to their list of decorated celebrity exports. While the doe-eyed injenue was born in Brooklyn, NY, she and her family relocated to Millburn, NJ when Hathaway was just six years old. We made the short trip from the Canadiens’ hotel in Short Hills to see where it all started for the Les Miserables star with a visit to the Paper Mill Playhouse, where she hit the stage for the “New Voices” concert in 1997. Here’s a taste of what locals knew about the young star before Hollywood came calling: WATCH

After enjoying her breakout role as a fashion assistant to fellow Garden State native, Meryl Streep, in The Devil Wears Prada, Hathaway will be forever linked to the iconic designer. It’s only fitting that the brand opened a flagship store in The Mall at Short Hills the same year Les Mis hit the big screen. We can’t help but assume Hathaway had a hand in luring her favorite designer a few blocks away from her parents’ New Jersey home.